Friends remember Dean’s adventurous spirit

GARDEN VALLEY -- The drowning of a long-time river guide on the Payette River has left the rafting community shocked and grieving.

It’s the first drowning of a river guide in Boise County that anyone can remember. 

Forty-five-year-old Dean Fairburn of Garden Valley drowned Sunday afternoon while guiding a group down the South Fork of the Payette River. 

He leaves behind a wife and two kids.

Dean loved the outdoors and is going to be greatly missed by family and friends.

"Dean was very experienced very calm, very aware in the water, he knew his game," said John Lawler, Idaho Whitewater Unlimited.

Dean was not only a river guide, but also a friend, a family man and a school teacher.

"He was a teacher at heart. He loved to teach and he loved to share his knowledge," said Lawler.

During the summer months, Fairburn worked as a river guide for Idaho Whitewater Unlimited.

Those in the rafting community said his scruffy smile was unforgettable.

Dena Fairburn of Garden Valley died while rafting on the South Fork of the Payette River Sunday.

Early Sunday morning, just as he had done for more than seven years, Dean took a group of rafters down a group of class three and four rapids in the Payette River.

When they reached the popular and treacherous Staircase rapids, the raft hit a rock and flipped.

"From my perspective Dean's the man, because he reassured that the clients in his boat were taken care of. That's probably the best testimony to Dean as an individual," said Tom Long, owner of Cascade Rafting and Kayak Company.

The rafters made it safely to shore, but Dean's foot was jammed under a rock and he then drowned while trying to get free.

People regarded him as the perfect embodiment of an Idaho outdoorsman.

"Great guy, great family great guy. He's was an adventurer," said Long.

Dean had recently qualified for the Iditarod, an 1,100 mile dog sled race across Alaska's jagged mountains.

J.B. Lawler, a close friend of Dean’s, remembers their first meeting.

"Wanting to stay on the water and stay active in the river community, he tripped through my door and we formed a great friendship," said Lawler.

Lawler says Dean will be missed, not only in the rafting community, but also in Garden Valley.

"He's going to be missed by a lot of people. He was an awesome man. He was an awesome man," said Lawler.

Some river guides NewsChannel 7 spoke with want to reassure anyone rafting this summer that the Payette River is safe as long as the proper precautions are taken.  This was just a freak accident.

A memorial fund has been set up for the Fairburn family at the Les Bois Federal Credit Union for anyone looking to help.